Our site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience, if you choose to continue then we will assume that you are happy for your web browser to receive all cookies from our website. If you would like more information, please visit our cookie policy page.

If a request is made for them to call-in a proposal, the Secretary of State may determine that an airspace change proposal should be decided by them rather than the CAA.

The Secretary of State must be satisfied that one of any three call-in criteria apply. These criteria are that the proposed change:

is of strategic national importance,

could have a significant impact (positive or negative) on economic growth of the United Kingdom, or

could both lead to a change in noise distribution resulting in a 10,000 net increase in the number of people subjected to a noise level of at least 54 dB LAeq 16hr and have an identified adverse impact on health and quality of life.

Anyone can ask the Secretary of State to call-in a proposal, but even if an airspace change proposal meets the criteria, there is no obligation on the Secretary of State to agree to call-in the proposal.

However, the Secretary of State may not determine that the proposal will be decided by them if the proposed change is:

submitted by, or on behalf of, the Ministry of Defence

directly related to a planning decision which had already been determined by the Secretary of State, or

directly related to a planning decision by another planning authority which involved detailed consideration of changes to flight paths in UK airspace.

Submitting a call-in request

A call-in request should be submitted in writing within four weeks of the CAA indicating on its website the date that the Sponsor’s formal airspace change proposal has been received by the CAA by emailing:
airspace.policy@caa.co.uk

Requests made outside of that four-week window will not be considered.

In response to the request, the above criteria are assessed to determine whether the proposal is eligible to be called-in. The Secretary of State decides whether the proposal is eligible to be called-in and whether it will be called in, and aims to do so within eight weeks of the proposal being submitted.